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The Warrens
The Warrens Every city has its slums and Tyr is no exception. The Warrens sprawl across the northern quarter of the city. Until the recent revolution, many of the buildings here were unoccupied. The few that were inhabited housed lower-class freemen and former slaves, poor but hardworking and proud. They kept their houses and businesses in good order. Closer to the center of town lies the Elven Market and Shadow Square, two areas of commerce in the Warrens. No one cared much about the other ruined, dilapidated structures that filled the area. These often served as sources of building materials or trash dumps for residents of the Warrens. Much of this changed, however, with the assassination of Kalak and the freeing of the slaves. Suddenly, a huge influx of people, mostly ex-slaves, moved into the Warrens. Out of work and no longer living on the plantations that housed them, the Warrens were their only refuge. Some have found work and seek to make their homes here, repairing and improving the structures they’ve taken for their own. Others, less fortunate or ambitious, have chosen a more predatory approach to survival: Crime. Gangs now roam the Warrens, targeting anyone who looks like they might have a ceramic piece on them. Muggings and robberies have risen drastically, and the watch finds bodies in the street almost daily. At times, the violence spills over into the trade districts or, more rarely, even the Nobles’ Quarter. Templar patrols do little good. The mobs simply scatter when they see the guardsmen coming, vanishing like rats into the ruins. Several tradesmen, enraged by extortion demands and acts of vandalism and thievery, have employed mercenaries to patrol their streets. Repeated clashes have occurred between the mobs and the sellswords. For now, the mercenaries have the upper hand and the mobs seem to be staying in the Warrens. Those entering the Warrens would be well advised to stick to the fringe areas. Travel by day and not alone, if possible. Anyone entering the interior of the Warrens should go armed and keep his wits about him. Parts of the Warrens are rumored to be haunted and monsters lair in darkened corners of the ruins. The headquarters of the mysterious Veiled Alliance is also said to be hidden somewhere within the Warrens. Surely, the Veiled Ones would kill interlopers to keep their secret. Be forewarned, those who enter the Warrens do so at their own peril. The Elven Bridge The ancient Elven Bridge stands as an ignominious reminder of the past. Its dusty, serpentine streambed speaks of Tyr’s lost legacy. The barren gully below the bridge provides ample space for a seller to address groups of customers. In the past, the bridge and streambed have served as a market to auction slaves, a secluded spot to handle clandestine exchanges of contraband, and an ambush point to waylay stragglers from the Elven Market. Its role remains largely unchanged today, except for slave trading which is now outlawed in the city. The Elven Market Tyr’s Elven Market is located in the Warrens between the Elven Bridge and Shadow Square. Its inner-city location allows Tyrians easy access to the market. Several of Athas’ nomadic elven tribes trade here, bringing exotic goods and curiosities from across the region. Each tribe owns one or two of the gray-brown brick buildings that border the market area. The buildings typically have a broad door and a large window with counter from which the elven merchants hawk their wares. Anything (legal or not) can be found in the Elven Market if the customer can afford it and knows the right questions to ask of the right people. Nobles often have servants accompany them to watch for cutpurses. Shadow Square “The stadium charged five ceramics for our selling space!” “One must sew the seeds before one can reap the harvest,” Ojoba prattled when I complained, but afterwards he did deliver me to the promised ale. “I tell you what,” Ojoba said to me as we entered Shadow Square. “I like you, man. I like you well. So today I’ll buy the first drink.” Just inside the Warrens from the ziggurat sits Shadow Square, a small entertainment district at the junction of five lanes. Six wineshops, a gambling house, and two hostelries surround the plaza. The square’s busiest hours usually occur between sunset and the predawn hours, although a steady trickle of customers can be found here at almost any time of day. The wineshops include: The Red Kank, a wineshop of moderately good quality and reasonable prices, this two-story structure features a terrace on the upper floor where customers may enjoy their food and drink while watching the comings and goings in the square below. The Happy Dwarf serves the widest variety of ales in the city including its own brand, “Cactus Blue,” a potent draft which is brewed from the tough grall cactus that grows in the badlands west of Tyr. The Rats’ Nest is the dive of choice among the city’s less discriminating drinkers. It’s got the cheapest ale and wine in town, and it tastes like it. Rumor has it that the Rats’ Nest serves as a fencing operation for stolen goods as well. The Weeping Widow caters to gladiators and fighting men. Several stuffed or dried trophies from old arena kills are prominently displayed on its walls, and stories of their taking are often bantered over a mug of ale. Midnight Sands has more atmosphere than the others, attempting to lure the important merchant trade and other visitors to the city. It boasts large cushioned booths with sheer silken curtains fluttering in the breeze, scented oil lamps, and winsome serving girls. Its lavish approach does seem to encourage business, but its prices are nearly twice those of other wineshops in the square. The Drunken Giant rounds out the list. Lacking the pretensions of some of its competitors, this fine tavern serves good food and drink at affordable prices. The owner of the Drunken Giant is rumored to be friendly with the Veiled Alliance. Characters seeking out the preservers may hear that a secret entrance to the undercity exists somewhere in “the belly of the giant” and that the Veiled Ones can be contacted there. This is true if the adventure occurs before the fall of Kalak, although even with this knowledge, it will not be easy for the characters to make contact. If Kalak has been assassinated, the entrance to the undercity will have been sealed and no one in the wineshop will admit any knowledge of the Alliance. The Fortune Oasis A streetwise half-elf named Luris runs this gambling house. His staff consists of eight gamesmen of various races, four thri-kreen and two half-giant “doormen,” an accomplished psionicist and a preserver (known simply as Nissa, Luris’ assistant). Luris runs only a slightly crooked gaming house and frowns upon cheating. The Screaming Cellar Just off Shadow Square is the home of one the more unusual residents of Tyr. The establishment, whose ownership has changed many times, has a dwarven banshee protecting its wine cellar from whence the winehouse takes its name. Many years ago, a dwarf by the name of Portek was given a job defending the cellars of the establishment. The defense of the cellars became his focus. One hot night, a group of elven raiders broke into the cellars via a secret passage from Under Tyr, slew Portek, and stole casks of the proprietor’s wine. Portek now is cursed to defend the remaining cask left behind during the raid for eternity. The particular cellar is now unused as Portek remains its guardian. An occasional drunken adventurer will enter the catacomb underneath the tavern to face the banshee, never to be seen again. To this day, Portek remains a creature haunted by his own past. The Crystal Spider The most notorious gambling hall in Tyr, the Crystal Spider, lies at the edge of the Bard’s Quarter not far from the Elven Market. The large, three-story building seems strangely out of place in the crumbling, ramshackle neighborhood. It has a courtyard of sorts with a small bubbling fountain in it, separated from the street by an ancient wall and gate. The arch above the gate bears a silver-plated spider as symbol of the house. The house possesses a small private artesian well and supplements Girias’ (the Minister of Wells) stakes when he comes to gamble, in order to maintain its “private” status. The Crystal Spider boasts an expansive interior with a long bar at the rear. Musicians and dancing girls entertain customers as they wager coins in a variety of games. Some of the finest and most exotic food in all Tyr can be found in its luxuriant dining room, although only the wealthiest of citizens can afford the extravagant fare. Lavish sitting rooms, offices, and rooms reserved for special patrons fill the upper floors. A gorgeous half-elven ex-gladiator named Krysta runs the gambling hall. Beautiful and provocative, Krysta wields her sensuality as deftly as any blade. She maintains a close friendship with Rikus going back to their arena days, but remains fiercely independent. Her staff consists largely of half-breeds like herself— half-elven dealers, half-giant guards and bouncers, and mul cooks. Krysta knows the alienation extended to those of mixed blood on Athas. She pays well and her employees are both fanatically loyal and highly competent, able to spot all forms of cheating including psionits and magic.